Trip
by metacog
Summary: Fang has to change her approach to win the soldier's heart. Fang/Lightning. Two-shot.  Slight AU: Pulse is populated with its native people. Serah is rescued before the return to Eden.
1. Chapter 1

Title: **Trip**

Section: Part 1 of 2

Draft: First

Rating: T (language, sexual situations)

Warnings: Spoilers for Final Fantasy XIII. Same-sex romance.

Summary: Fang has to change her approach to win the soldier's heart. Fang/Lightning. (Slight AU: Pulse is populated with its native people. Serah is rescued before the return to Eden.)

Disclaimer: Square-Enix owns Final Fantasy XIII and its characters.

A/N#1: Trying to get my groove back so I can resume **Call Me Lightning**. These ten scenes are like excerpts from a full-length adventure that tell a smaller, faster story when taken on their own. There are jumps between scenes, but the central narrative "Fang and Lightning fall in love" still flows through them, I think... It's not perfect. (I don't plan to write the longer story—this was originally going to be one scene.)

A/N#2: This is a perspective style I've been wanting to try for a while—a first-person, second-person hybrid. The first time I read it, I loved the intimacy of it. First-person "I" = Fang. Second-person "you" = Lightning.

* * *

"—and then she punched me in the _mouth_," the cheerful lug says.

I chuckle under my breath. We creep down the deserted hall in Palumpolum. To the spot we'll blast into the arena where you're surrounded. "Is that how all these stories end?"

"No!" His face crumples in sudden thought. "...wait..." It's an expression I've learned not to expect genius to emerge from. Or fly within a hundred yards of. "Yes."

"Why so angry?" I crouch and peer around the last corner. "Doesn't get enough hugs at night?"

"Her parents died, and she had to raise her sister." I blink back my sudden guilt. How was I to know? I could still be right about that anger.

I stand and wave Snow forward. He joins my side instead of moving past. "She didn't have to, though. She chose to. She fought for guardianship when she was only fifteen," he adds.

I set the first charge myself, keepin' an eye out for guards. He keeps talkin', and I let him. I'm curious. "Lightning gave up everything to put my girl first. So I'll take any punch she throws and get up smiling. And when we get Serah back, maybe then she'll smile again, too."

"_Another_ 'hero'?" I set the second charge and retreat, pulling him with me. "No wonder your whole family got branded l'Cie."

The target wall is solid. No windows. No knowing what lies beyond. Hopefully we get to run out fightin'. I lead us back around the corner.

"Don't say the h-word to her," he says. "Not if you like keeping your nose in one piece."

I press my back to the safe wall, pinning my spear against it. I've never met you and already I'm impressed. And amused. I lay my thumb on the remote. "Is she pretty?"

"My girlfriend's sister?" He looks at me like I'm the idiot. "She's beautiful."

I grin— "Maybe I can help with her other problem." —and press my thumb.

* * *

My head smacks the ground as I fly from our tent too fast to catch myself. When the stars clear you hover over me. The angel of fury. "What part of _strategy_ meeting makes you think you can _grope_ me?" Your eyes burn with rage. It's beautiful in a way that makes me think you've secretly taught yourself Death.

"It wasn't a grope; it was a caress," I don't get up. Not sure I can yet. "And it's part o' my 'strategy' to rescue that oratoise from your ass, Cheerful."

Your eyes narrow to thin blue swords. "Well, I guess your tactics need some improvement." Your face disappears, and I slowly sit up. My head spins.

"Hmph," I grunt. My mood has definitely soured. A couple steps away, you rub your adamantine knuckles. "You wouldn't bust your hand on my face all the time if you'd kiss me like you want to."

"I will _never_ kiss you." You try to point with the wrong hand and wince. It makes you madder. "You're arrogant and impulsive and reckless and—and _you_."

"Right. I've got it all." I hold my hands out to my sides.

You pinch your lips in a higher level glare than I've ever seen and spin back towards the tent. You duck through the folds and instantly 'ziiiip.' Point taken, Sergeant Ice. That flap o' canvas will definitely keep me out tonight.

I still can't get up. I sit there rubbing my jaw, and the last look on your face burns in my eyes. The truth flashes in that storm of anger. Fear. Not what I'm aimin' for...

* * *

I sit back against the cold stone wall of Taejin's Tower. You've gone ahead while the kid patches me up. Again. We're almost to the top.

Hope glowers at me as the cool tingle of Cura puts out fires of pain in my leg and shoulder. I glance at his eyes, and his scowl deepens.

I wanna be nice to him. I know his mother died on Cocoon. I want to be nice. But after a long day of bites and Aeros and gashes and Poisons, I got no patience left for this sullen little drama prince. So I frown back.

"You know," he starts. I clench my jaw. I'm gonna be scolded by a brat? Great. "I wouldn't have to Cure you after every fight if you could tear your eyes off Lightning's ass l-long enough to notice the Vampire about to claw you."

The tingle of his magic fades leaving me painless and slightly numb. "I wasn't looking at her ass." I push to my feet and smirk at the little fellah. He wants to play with the big kids? "I was looking at her breasts."

I turn with my spear and walk towards the door you went through. Counting the seconds 'til his furious silver head explodes.

"You're not good enough for her!"

I tense. Damn smart kid. "Not gonna stop me from tryin'."

"If I was older—"

In a flash, I spin back to stand over him. "But you're _not_, are you?" We glare at each other. I'm impressed he doesn't back down. I also don't care. "You're not older. She's a woman, and you're just a boy."

I don't say it to hurt him. It's the truth. And I'm sick of his fawning.

His fist shakes and glows red with Fira. I open my eyes 'til there's white all around and smile like a predator. This language I understand. Raw, animal combat. I lean into a crouch, daring him to fight. "Careful, mage... Don't want to send me to her for healing, do you?"

His mouth twists in a sour frown. He steps back and blasts his spell at the floor with a yell. A bowl of charred stone smokes an inch from my feet. Acrid tendrils curl into my nose, but I don't move. Welcome to the real world, Hope. Not every hero gets the girl.

His shoulders sag, and he turns to pout at the wall. "...you're not good enough for her."

I step around his Fira pit and place a hand softly on his shoulder. He jerks away. "Let go!"

Don't want sympathy, then? Or not from me? Fine.

"Oh no." I grip his arm firmly and pull him along. "You've had your little fit. Suck it up, and let's find Light before Dahaka does."

Hope pulls his arm. I let him go, and he follows, scraping his heels.

Is every teen a brooding volcano? I think back to my years in his boots. Lost loved ones. Unattainable crushes. Suddenly, tough love seems like a shitty idea. He just lost his mother and his home...

I sigh. We leave the 'face-off' room and follow the central balcony around to the lift. You wait at the far side with a hand on your hip. "You'll meet other girls, Hope. Oerba is full of 'em."

Under his breath, he grumbles, "Why don't _you_ go for one of them?"

* * *

Heat like a campfire toasts my back. A cold wind bites my face. I realize I'm sitting, leaning back into a soft, lean body. My dreams fade slowly in a hypnotic rise and fall. A chocobo. We only caught one. Had to ride it together.

I open my eyes to a starlit prairie. Your arms hold me on each side and the reigns in front. The yellow, feathered neck bobs in time with each step. I play asleep, wanting to enjoy this closeness just a little more. We should switch. Let you sleep a turn. Just a little longer...

"You're awake," you say quietly by my ear.

"How'd you know?" I let my body rest in our almost hug.

"You're breathing faster."

I grin sleepily. "An all-night ride in your arms does that to me."

You sigh. You must be tired, or I'd be bouncing off the ground by now. "Why do you ruin every moment with a come on?"

"My elder once told me, 'Fang-a, you can't win the pot if you leave the table.'"

"So I'm a game to you." You sound convinced, like you just proved it.

"Not a game, love. It means keep tryin'. His great gambler's advice for life after he lost his boat but before he lost his house."

You don't reply, and for a while, the only sound is endless prairie grasses brushing past our chocobo. Slowly, my brain finishes waking up. Constellations look like old friends, and I think of what I wish I'd said. I turn my head to yours. You look at me sideways. If you turned, you'd have to kiss me. I smile like a thief who got away, and you recognize it now. "Don't..." you warn.

"It's good."

"So's my aim."

I try not to say it, but... I drop my voice to my sultry, don't-you-wish-I-was-naked tone and say, "I'll show you what a good hand I have when I'm all-in, make you push the kitty to me..."

A flame bursts on your cheeks and you look away. I'm tempted to kiss that milky neck until survival instinct screams, 'Run! Live while you can!'

I brace myself, and after a few seconds of not being stabbed I say, "I know you're tired, Light, but this is where you dump me to the ground and—"

"Shut up!" You glare forward, gripping the reigns. Cheeks still flushed. It's hot and adorable. "I'll hit you when we get there."

* * *

The engine room is quiet. My boots clack on the deck grate as I walk past Sazh and kneel by his toolbox.

"Got it already?" he asks. The old man wipes some leaked oil off his new turbine limits.

I dig a tongue-and-groove pliers out. "Bloody cap is stuck," I growl.

I walk past his look of surprise. "Woa-ho! Easy, dragon rider." He follows me.

A drop of sweat rolls into my eye, and I wipe it away. I frown at him, letting my frustration show. "That wrench'll break the ceramic," he says. He reaches out. "Let me show you."

I hand the wrench to him. He slips it in his back pocket and looks at my nemesis. "Nothin' personal, boss, but if you can force open something I can't, I'll eat my lance."

He grins. "Always thinking with your unholy strength." He reaches a dirty brown hand to the air valve before the tank and twists it until it shushes like a librarian. "A baked cap is like our pretty soldier... Sealed tight from all the pressure inside." He opens the redundant line valve, and their hiss fades in stereo. "But if you let it out slowly..." He reaches for the tank cap and twists it free. Easy. He hands it to me with a smile that twinkles in his brown eyes. "Then she'll open up."

"Slowly, huh?" I snort and set the cap down, picking up the bottle of fluid. "Things ain't exactly goin' 'lightning' fast. Or anywhere at all."

He wipes his hands on a shop rag, and for a second it's like I'm looking at a shipwright from the dockyards back home. Nice, bein' a pilot and a mechanic. I wonder if he'll teach me that, too. It felt good when he picked me to help instead o' that lunk Snow. I love the blonde bear, but you can hear the rocks when he shakes his head.

"Be her friend first," Sazh says in his deep, gravel voice. "With all she's going through—sister in a magical curse, running with outlaws she used to arrest, banished from home—being jilted in love is the last risk she'd take now."

"I wouldn't jilt her, dammit." I scowl at the bright red fluid as I slowly top off the tank. "Why does everyone think I'm a one-night wonder?"

"I know you're not, girl; I know." He pats my shoulder. "She's got you by the...uh..."

I smirk as I close the bottle. "By the tits?"

"Heh. Well, you said it." He scratches his 'fro, still uncomfortable when I joke like that with him. "Just let that pressure out of inside her. Let her know the real you behind all that sass and bravado."

My hand freezes halfway to putting the tank cap back on. For a second, I hate how far in I've let you get without trying. Without a single soft touch or shy look. "...what if she doesn't like the real me?"

"What's not to like?" He leans against the turbine frame and grins. The old charmer could be my dad. 'Cept for lookin' different. "You're the best unofficial airship mechanic apprentice I've ever had."

"I'm your only ever apprentice, Sazh."

"Tcha!" He throws his hands up and turns back to his work. "Details."

* * *

We stand at the end of the dock watching Oerba's fishing boats sail in. Waves turn back on themselves beneath the boards like an old sailor shuffling his feet. The sun is setting in a blaze of orange and blue. Clouds above are pink like the hair falling on your collar.

When I breathe the salty spray in deep, for a minute I feel like the War never happened. I'm just another Oerban standin' here. Watching a sunset with a beautiful girl.

A silhouette waves at us from a boat with a fast, wide fan of his arm. My face splits in a grin. That's gotta be Geratt. I wave back at him, not caring if we both look like fools.

"You know people already?" You're surprised. Maybe a little jealous. Friendship and trust are harder for you than most. I feel special to have earned some o' both.

"Yeah. I came by this mornin'." I turn to look at you, and in a heartbeat I forget the sunset I lured you here for. Your pearl skin is glowing in the light, and my prayer not to lose my thoughts at the sight stays unanswered. "So?" I tilt my head towards the sun. The real sun.

"It's pretty," you say softly. "Like home." You take a deep breath, and a tiny smile pulls the corners of your mouth. Felt like I'd discovered a secret map when I learned to see that smile.

I swallow a corny reply and look back to the horizon. "Bodhum was nice. Kinda upscale. Not a fisher-fighter port like Oerba."

"I gathered that from the smell." You cock an eyebrow at me, daring me to hear the joke in your dry tone. "And the fishmongers."

"That's tradition, there." I smile, remembering the bustling market and your little frown for the din of outspoken shoppers and stall keepers. "Won't find better chusonagani anywhere!"

"That's your favorite?"

"Mmm." I close my eyes in a moment of bliss. "I'd smite Cocoon for a pepper-fried chuso."

"Or if the sun was shining."

Without looking, I know that secret smile is back and mine joins it.

"Yeah, but that don't give me something to eat after." Unless you— I shake the scorching image away. Not helping, 'friend.' "You like surfing? Geratt says there's big waves due tomorrow." I point my thumb towards the bloke I waved at.

"The random mariner has a name? Maker, Fang, how long 'til you run for mayor?"

I smirk. "I'm technically the village elder. My words o' wisdom are ignored by youth village-wide."

You grin, and I feel happier from causing that than from slaying Dahaka. In a minute it fades, and you look far away in your mind again. "I love surfing... But we have to leave for Devil's Grave tomorrow."

I groan. Sometimes I hate savin' the world.

"Your people named it, not me," you say.

"Yeah, you'd pro'ly call it 'West Valley.'"

"Now _that_ would make sense-"

"-and be no fun-"

"-and keep rascal kids away."

I shake my head, amused at you for being so...you. I lay my hands on your shoulders and gaze into your ice-blue eyes, feelin' the little hitch in your breath. "Great. Big. Screaming wet waves." I squeeze.

A ghost of regret runs across your face. "If the elder thinks the l'Cie should hit the surf, we will."

After a second, I drop my hands and sigh. This is why you hate being the responsible one. Always weighing choices. "Best make the most of tonight, I guess." A night that's not over... "Come on."

You follow, and I lead us up the dock and down a narrow street. A weathered warehouse crowds the pavement left, and a fenced-off salvage yard crowds it right. Dirt washed or blown over the road grits under our boots. Not the scenic route, but it's home.

"Is it very different?" you ask, and I know you mean the village.

"Surprisingly, no. Same ol' docks. Same streets and market. Same smilin' people." I step close and elbow you with a smirk. "You'll have to train if you wanna fit in."

Your lip quirks, and you cock that eyebrow.

"Warmer..." I say.

You scowl.

My stomach does that annoying flip-flop. "Hot..."

You blush and look away.

"Cute..."

Finally, you smile. Dropping Dahaka was nothin'.

"Perfect! You'll be mayor by Sunday."

A quick exhale escapes you, amusement only halfway from a smile to a laugh.

We walk in an easy quiet. The evening breeze is cool. I refold my sari to cover more than usual, and your eyes skirt away.

I smirk as we reach a stone-front building with a green awning. A sweet piano and head-nodding bass float out the open door to welcome us. A deep voice sings words I can't quite make out, but they're fillin' my heart with a vibration it's been missing. "This is it!" I announce.

You give it a once over with an unreadable frown. "A _dive bar?_"

"If that's Cocoon for 'out-of-the-way song pub,' then yeah." I rub my arm, then order my body to stop. Nerves ain't part o' this plan. Or any plan for cool Yun Fang.

"Music and drinks?" you ask.

"Yes and _yes_. And food-I made sure."

"Dancing?"

I smile wider. The music is getting in me, and I spin you in a sudden hug. "Yeah!"

You're not in the mood and push away. I turn sideways, embarrassed and frustrated, hoping that impulse didn't make you suddenly close off.

You fold your arms and frown at the ground. Shit. "No thanks..."

"Oh, come _on,_ Lightnin'. I promise not to get fresh."

"That's not it."

I look at the sky like the right words might be hidden in the clouds and cock my hands on my hips. "I promise _to_ get fresh?"

Your scowl darkens, and you flip out your gun-blade like a samurai swan. "When I dance, this is my partner. Enemies die. The end." You twirl it back to it's holster with a flourish and stare at me like a deadly goddess, and the breath rushes from my chest. You honestly don't know how hot you are.

"...are you _trying _to get lucky tonight?"

Your eyes widen in surprise for a second. You blush and turn to leave. I dart around to block you with my hands up. "Just one song! Just one; we'll sit at the bar. Please? I love this music..."

Uncertainty flashes in your eyes. Then vanishes as they freeze over. You sound bitter and sad when you say, "Go without me."

"With- Then _you_ won't be there." I frown and run an angry hand into my hair. "Gods! You make this so hard." I glare at the autowagon across the street and wait for the sound of your boots walkin' away.

If I find the people who hurt you...

I jump when you hand slips into mine, warm and smooth. My heart joins the drumbeat from inside. You look down at our joined hands for a long moment. I hold my breath as your eyes rise to mine. Wary. Hopeful. Searching.

I feel frozen for another century gazing into your crystal eyes. Afraid any move might break this moment, this chance.

Your face and shoulders relax, and a not-so-secret smile comes out. A laugh and a cry fight in my throat; so I just sigh. That's what you needed?

A soulful alto calls to us from the bar. "This one sounds pretty good," you say and pull me by the hand.

A mix of song and laughter welcomes us in. It's understated. Wood bar and tables, half full. The band plays on a stage in the corner. The coverman looks over, a young, red-headed fellow. He eyes my shoulder tattoo and recognition flashes.

"Welcome, dragoon." He nods, turns to Light. "Miss." He turns away. Guess legends get in free.

Your eyes sweep the bar before coming back to mine. Our hands are still together. "Get me a drink?" you ask.

"Sure." My heart is still fluttering as you fingers slip free. You take a step towards the lassie's.

"Table?"

"Okay."

Another smile as you walk away. I fetch two beers from the bar and settle down at an open table. The band plays two songs before the voice in the back o' my head starts asking, what if you snuck out? You wouldn't...I think. Wouldn't go without sayin'.

I take a long swig, and by the end o' the third song I'm gettin' a sick feeling in my stomach. No line is this long...

"You were right." My head spins to your voice as the bass drum seems to thump in my chest. You set a plate in front of me and lick your thumb. I try not to look like I was about to come looking for you. Like I would'a picked a fight with any man who glanced my way if I hadn't found you.

You pull a chair out. It squeaks on the wood floor. You sit and reach over to the plate with a shy smile. "Sorry it took so long."

I look down at what I've been held up unknowing for. The smell of oil and pepper and seafood makes me smile. I take a deep breath, pick up a breaded bite, and drop it through my lips-my first taste of fried chusonagani in five hundred years.


	2. Chapter 2

Title: **Trip**

Section: Part 2 of 2

Draft: 1.5 (revised 10/5/10)

Rating: T (language, sexual situations)

Warnings: Spoilers for Final Fantasy XIII. Same-sex romance.

Summary: Fang has to change her approach to win the soldier's heart. Fang/Lightning. Two-shot. (Slight AU: Pulse is populated with its native people. Serah is rescued before the return to Eden.)

Disclaimer: Square-Enix owns Final Fantasy XIII and its characters.

A/N: Edited just a little to de-mush a few parts.

* * *

Steam rises from the hot springs. I lean on my spear and scan the cliffs.

"Are you keeping watch?" your sis asks. Her eyesight still ain't back from being pulled early out o' the crystal. Questions are her way o' lookin' around for now.

"Yeah. I won't let anything near ya. Don't worry."

She sweeps her arms idly in the healing pool. It's what I brought her for. She turns her head towards my voice from where she sits, soaking. "I'm not afraid. I kind of wish you'd relax. This is a spa; you should enjoy it, too. Snow and Light should come and massage our heads and shoulders."

I grin. "I'm enjoyin' keeping you safe."

Our voices echo softly in the rock basin. Minerals caught in the fog smell like an exotic tea. I glance around. No sign of ingmar or yeti. "Eyes any better?"

"I think so. I see a blur of shapes instead of a blur of blurs." Serah slips her head underwater. She comes up and starts to swim.

"Careful." I step closer. "I don't want my head knocked off for letting ya scratch your knee, princess."

Serah laughs and lays back to float. "By Lightning? That's all bluff. She doesn't hit anyone."

I try not to choke out loud. "She does when you're in trouble."

"Really?"

"Yeah, Snow never said? We Cured his nose every day. I learned to dodge." I rub my cheek without thinkin'.

She sighs. Her body floats in a lazy spin. "I thought the Guardian Corps broke her of that. It may have gotten her through high school, but it doesn't solve problems."

I chuckle. "Soldier's little sis is a pacifist? Engaged to a bare-knuckle brawler?"

"Well...it may not solve problems, but...it's still kinda hot."

"Heh, yeah—I mean, _no_." Uh-oh. "I mean...did you hear that?"

Serah giggles. She rolls over and swims back towards my voice. "When I first met Snow, I called him a 'pugilist,' and he said, 'No, I can't play music, but I throw a knockout uppercut!'"

I laugh, hopin' I'm right that 'pugilist' is a smarty-pants word for boxer.

Her hand reaches for the edge of the pool, testing. She finds it and holds herself there. "How did you two meet?"

I sit down on a not-too-sharp rock. My lance hangs loose in my fingers. "He was tryin' to cut you free o' the crystal lake—"

"No, you and Lightning, silly." Her smile reminds me o' you when you forget to worry.

"Ah, Light. She tried to run off alone in Palumpolum, and I chased after her. One woman versus an army seemed like bad odds."

"But _two_ women—no problem."

"The two of us." I can't help smilin'. We're invincible side-by-side. "I'd'a been Bahamut's lunch if not for her. We Launched him, you know. Launched a dragon together. It's never been done!" I'm almost glad she can't see the star-struck look on my face. "Then he started flyin' and spat a comet at us—but we still did it. He was so impressed that he helps us now. I still don't think she knows just how impossible that should'a been."

I check the cliffs. Still nothin'. Serah's floating with her eyes closed. Wrapped in that wool cloak you handed me. You tilted your eyebrow in warning, and I winked. So easy to get under your skin. Under you clothes, on the other hand... I sigh. Never been on such a long daydream diet.

"Sorry, you're tryin' to meditate," I say. "I could make soft ocean noises?" I cup a hand by my lips. "kwhhh... kwhhh..."

She giggles. Definitely the young sister. "No, it's okay. What else happened?"

"Um..." You let me take your shirt half off within minutes o' knowin' me? No. I spent two nights in the Archylte rain before accepting the 'no _spooning!_' rule? Pro'ly not. "She called the legend of these healing springs a lot o' superstitious—"

"—mumbo-jumbo," she says with me. "That's our Light."

"What was she like before all this?"

Serah laughs.

"Oh, she was funny?"

"No, it's just cute. She talks about you all the time, too."

I perk up. "Like what?" I lean forward on my rock. "My epic fightin' skills? My knee-meltin' good looks?"

"No, more like you tried to undress her in the streets of Palumpolum—"

"—I was checking her _brand—_"

"—She made you sleep in a rainstorm until you admitted it wasn't cold in your tent..."

* * *

I dive behind a wide wood pillar. Terralyth's claws rip the air behind me and hack open the floor. "It'll kill us, Light!" I sprint past his flank while you blind the demon with a flurry of bullets. "We need the others!"

"We can't let it free!" You race across the dojo floor and dive into the tear while Terralyth swipes at his face. He stabs a claw into his lizard skull. An eyeball rolls to the puncture from within and sweeps a bloody gaze in search of us. You climb out the hole in the floor by me and peer through the same bamboo screen. "Mayareet is just down the mountain."

"Should'a thought o' that before breaking in." Our only luck yet is the demon seems deaf. Maybe he'll stab an ear into his freakish head...

"_You_ broke in." You shoot me a glare.

"Yeah, well—" Terralyth screams, and the rafters shake. Dust falls on us like rain. He stomps around the dojo chopping every screen and weapon rack down. Not much time. "Our weapons are _useless_. Whadda you wanna do? Spit on him?"

"We'll crush it."

Another weapon rack crashes apart.

"With what? Our scorn for it's dinner invitations?"

"That only works on you..." You look up as the dust clears. "And yes."

We duck quick into the open floor. Terralyth smashes our hiding screen above and screeches. The whole dojo quakes. "Yes?"

"Yes, I'll have dinner with you."

I look back as you crawl after me. Happiness and mortal fear swirl in my gut. "No sisters? Just you and me and whatever I catch that day fryin' in a pan?"

"Yes." We stop near the 'exit.' I try to peek through the floor. "If we live."

You yank me hard by the belt as a poison claw shatters the boards above me. My heart hammers. You help me sit up. The beast smashes another hole further away. Still searching.

"If not..." Our eyes lock in the shadows. I see your thought a heartbeat before your lips hit mine. I curl my hand behind your neck, holdin' on. Your free arm pulls us together. An urgent first kiss stolen in battle. You mouth is hot and soft. I feel light-headed. Kissed on a battlefield...what a woman.

You pull away and quick jump out the spot you saved me from. I dash after.

A pillar splinters and cracks from your Thundara blast. Before I can say 'you missed,' you blast another. A rafter splits apart. The stone roof bows and creaks. You grab my sleeve and run. We circle the decimated dojo as you take out supports. "And they say I'm crazy."

Terralyth spins on us when flying shrapnel clatters off his back. He wails in fury. The final rafters snap. Granite slabs collapse into the dojo. I realize too late we'll never make it out.

Suddenly a wall of wind throws me. Window glass shatters in a blizzard of crystal. I look at you as I fly out. White curls of Aerora spiral from your hand. Terralyth's claws rake down on you is my last sight.

I slam to the ground and smack my head on the dirt. The roar of rocks crushing skeletons of wood and bone fills my ears.

I scramble unsteady to my feet. My chest feels like I been hit with Demi. I run into a cloud of earth and dust. "Lightning!"

Stone and board and the demon are piled where you were. I race across the rubble to a crater in the dojo floor. "Light!"

"I'm here..." Your voice is weak. The best and worst sound I ever heard.

"Gods in hell." I crawl through the remnants o' the underfloor, heedless of nails and rocks. You limp crawl to meet me.

Your left leg drags. Your face is dirty as a miner. I'd kiss you again if I wasn't so pissed. "Next time you drop a building on your head, you do it _with_ me." I cradle your head and pull a flask o' Potion from your belt. I twist it open and put it to your lips with one hand. "Think you can get outta dinner by dyin' heroically..."

* * *

A slow wave swings my fishing boat. Beside me Vanille gapes at the hidden compartment stuffed with feathers. Lucky me, the old girl had a 'loose' board. A pry bar made sure of it.

"_How_ many?"

"Nine hundred and ninety-nine or so." I pull hooks and thread from a leather case. We're a few miles out. Far enough I can tell her my secret without losin' it. I hope. "...one more so."

"Raiden's _Cape of a Thousand Blood Feathers?_"

"Only _half _a cape. It's gotta match hers." The beginin's lie in my lap. Four o' forty rows done.

The morning sun shines bright behind my shocked friend. I squint. Her green eyes are wide as gui hooves. "Stars and sheep, Fang!"

"I just wanna give her somethin' nice. Something Oerban."

"People will think she's a _chieftain!_"

"Are you gonna help me or wake a leviathan?"

She taps a finger to her lips and frowns at the sea all dramatic. One o' her adorable habits that I still haven't figured out is real or put on. Either way, people underestimate her 'til the first Blizzaga.

"_Help._" She nods. "Because I think she likes you, too." She smiles, and I actually blush. You've made that pretty clear lately. "Otherwise a gift worth more than a dowry would be creepy, and I'd have to shove you into the arms of every cute blond we meet until you get over her."

"That's another thing." I grin slow. "We're together."

"_What?_ Yay!" Her arms fly around me and squeeze tight. The air bursts from my lungs. "You got her! When? How? No, _not_ how. But still when. And—" She peeks over her shoulders. Like the clouds are gonna spy. "_—did you find out?_" she whispers.

I tilt my head and frown. An old conversation flashes. _'A natural pink...'_ I pinch my lips. "She don't wanna rush that part." I grab a feather. Focus on sewing it in.

"Four months is hardly a rush."

"That's what I said!"

Vanille gasps. "Oh _no!_" A hand flies to her cheek. Her bottom lip juts in a pout.

"What? What is it?"

"Do I still get to fish? I brought all my rods!"

I roll my eyes and smile. "Of course." The boat rocks gently, and I relax. "Gotta keep our cover story."

* * *

I wait for you on your bed. The airship engines hum behind white, gloss walls. Your cabin is small and neat. Not one sock on the floor.

I sit up when you come in. Damp pink hair and rosy skin from a shower. You freeze when you see me. For a heartbeat it's the old you lookin' out. Your eyes drop, and you say nothin'.

A dark cloud fills me, and I remember why I'm here. "Why are you avoidin' me?"

You turn to close the door with a soft click. Stand there facin' it.

I sigh. My throat is sore from not cryin'. "Look, you can take it back...I miss you. You thought I was gonna die, and—"

"Fang, I don't want to take it back." You turn again. Your eyes bluer than Shiva's hearts. "I love you."

I take a sharp breath. "Then why...?"

Your face tightens. I haven't seen you this bothered since before we saved Serah. "Ragnarok... When you're transformed, Fira fills your mind. It burns your thoughts away, leaving only one helpless part of you to watch the rest destroy the world. It's why Anima chose us. He knew one of us would fall off that mental edge sooner or later. He's counting on it."

My heart chills. You're not just bein' poetic. "You felt it."

You nod. "When I thought you were gone."

"Lightnin'..." I stand and walk to you. My right hand cups your cheek. I brush my thumb on your ivory skin. "Feel that? I'm alive." Your eyes shine. I slip my left arm behind your back and pull you close. My forehead tips to yours. "Don't try livin' without me while I'm right here in your arms."

I drop my lips that last inch. Kiss you softly.

"I can't lose you."

"I'm not goin' anywhere without a fight, Claire."

You kiss me again. Your skin hot as a fever. Mouth hungry. You press your soft curves into mine. My lips part for your tongue. Your hand slips between us to squeeze my breast while the other claws down my back. I moan into your mouth.

"Are you fully healed?"

"Yes." Bloody close enough.

Your mouth is a torch against my neck, dropping kisses and nips. My knees shake, and you push me back to fall on your bed. Your leg swings over to straddle my abs, and I groan when the heat from your core burns me through your shorts.

"Fuck, Light..."

Wet hair falls on my cheek as you lean close. Your warm weight presses me into the matress. Our breaths mingle. The smell of cherry-blossom shampoo fills my mind. Your new devil smirk is my only warnin'.

.

I wake first. Sunlight glows behind pale curtains, filling the bedroom. My body complains in places silent far too long. You stir, a warm angel next to me. I reach up and comb long fingers through your hair. You breathe slowly, still half in a dream.

A sharp knock breaks the peace. You startle. Then grumble into the pillow, "Kill them so we can go back to sleep..."

"It's your room, love. Sure you don't want me to hide?"

I keep stroking my fingers through your hair. You hum a sleepy sigh. "They're going to find out sooner or later."

"What if it's Hope."

"Then kill him gently..."

I smile into your shoulder. Pull you close in my arms. "I love you."

You shift onto your back and smile up at me. "I remember." We kiss lightly, lips still tender from last night.

Another knock. My head turns to glare at the door. A growl rumbles in my throat. If that's Snow... You run a soothing hand on my arm. "Gently..."

* * *

A/N: Yes, I cut away from the sex scene. Boo. That's the 'one scene' that started this fic. If I want to motivate myself to write a companion piece from Light's POV, I need to tease myself along with something, right?


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